Except as specifically provided herein, all words used in this ordinance shall have their customary dictionary definitions. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words shall have the meaning herein indicated.

(a)

Words used in the present tense include the future tense.

(b)

Words used in the singular number include the plural and words used in the plural number include the singular.

(c)

The word "person" includes any natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, corporation, trust, and company as will as an individual.

(d)

The word "lot" includes word "plot" or "parcel."

(e)

The word "building" includes the word "structure."

(f)

The word "shall" is mandatory, not directory.

(g)

The words "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land or building shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied."

(h)

The word "map," "zoning map" or "Cordele Zoning Map" shall mean the "Official Zoning Map for the City of Cordele, Georgia."

(i)

The word "Ordinance" shall mean the "Official Zoning Ordinance for the City of Cordele, Georgia."

When used in this ordinance, the following words and phrases, whether capitalized or not, shall have the meaning indicated in this section.

Accessory building/use: A building or use that is subordinate to and serves a principal structure or a principal use; is subordinate in area, extent, and purpose to the principal structure or use served; is located on the same lot as the principal structure or use served, except as otherwise expressly authorized by the provisions of this Ordinance; and is customarily incidental to the principal structure or use.

Adult entertainment: Any establishment, public or private, that engages in the sale of explicit or erotic material or entertainment including adult bookstores, adult video stores, adult motion picture theaters, nude or erotic dancing establishments, and/or lingerie modeling studios.

Alley: A publicly owned secondary way which affords only secondary access to the side or rear of abutting property.

Alternative tower structure: Man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles and similar alternative-design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or towers.

Apartment: A single family dwelling unit for lease or rent within an apartment building or other similar building for occupancy for an extended period of time.

Apartment building: A multi-family dwelling unit structure consisting of apartment units separated by fire resistance as required by the Georgia State Minimum Building Code, as may be amended from time to time.

Automobile repair garage: Any area of land, including structures thereon, used for the retail service of major repairs, minor repairs, and painting of automobiles, including the incidental services of lubrication and cleaning.

Automobile service station: Any area of land, including structures thereon, used for the retail sale of gasoline or oil, automobile accessories, and incidental services, including facilities for lubricating, washing and cleaning, or otherwise servicing automobiles, but excluding painting and major repair.

Automobile wrecking yard, automobile used parts lot or junkyard: Any place where three (3) or more vehicles not in running condition, and not being restored to operative condition, or the parts thereof, are stored in the open, or any building or structure used principally for wrecking or storage of automobiles not in running condition. Any vehicle on which repairs to restore the vehicle to operative condition have not begun within a 30 day period from the time such vehicle appears on the property shall be considered as "not in running condition" for the purpose of this definition.

Basement: A space having one-half (½) or more of its floor-to-ceiling height below the average level of the adjoining ground and with a floor-to-ceiling height of not less than six and one-half (6-½) feet.

Bed and breakfast inn: Any owner-occupied dwelling or portion thereof offering transient lodging accommodations and offering less than six (6) rooms for a maximum of thirty (30) consecutive days. Breakfast is the only meal served and commercial restaurant or kitchen facilities are prohibited.

Block: A piece or parcel of land entirely surrounded by public rights-of-way, streets, other than alleys.

Boarding house, lodging, or rooming house: A building, other than a hotel or motel, where for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, both lodging and meals are provided.

Board of Appeals: Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Cordele, Georgia.

Building: Any structure having a roof which is intended for shelter, housing, or enclosure of persons, animals, or goods.

Building, alterations of: Any change or rearrangement in the supporting members of an existing building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, girders, or interior partitions, as well as any change in doors or windows, or any enlargement or addition to or diminution of a building or structure, whether horizontally or vertically, or the moving of a building or structure from one location to another.

Building, height of: The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the proposed finished grade at the front to the height level between the eaves and ridge for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs and to the deck line of a mansard roof. Building, principal: A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling shall be deemed to be a main building on the lot on which it is situated.

Building line: A line which represents the distance a building or structure must be set back from a lot line according to the terms of this Ordinance. In all cases, the building lines of a lot shall be determined to run parallel to be set back the appropriate distance required within the district in which the lot is located from the lot line measured to the building wall, not roof overhang. (Also referred to as the setback line.) Porches, balconies, and steps may project into the required yard.

Building official: The individual who is the building inspector designated by the Chief Codes Official of the City of Cordele, Georgia.

Cemetery: Any plot or ground, churchyard, building, mausoleum or other enclosure used for the burial of the dead.

Chief Codes Official: The individual designated by the City Commission of the City of Cordele under its Personnel Policy, and so employed as the Chief Codes Official, or the designated representative of the Chief Codes Official.

City: The City of Cordele, Georgia.

City Clerk: The individual who is employed by the City of Cordele as the City Clerk.

City Commission: The legally constituted and elected governing body of the City of Cordele, Georgia.

Clinic: An establishment where patients, who are not lodged overnight, are admitted for examination and treatment by a [any] one physician or a group of physicians practicing together.

Club, nonprofit: Buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person or persons for social, educational, or recreational purposes, but not primarily for profit and not open to the general public.

Comprehensive Plan: Any part or element of the adopted Comprehensive Plan for The City of Cordele or any other similar document that may be adopted from time to time by the City of Cordele.

Conditional use: A use not ordinarily permitted in a particular zoning district, but which may be permitted upon the imposition of conditions related to the promotion of the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare and designed to minimize the negative impact of the use on surrounding lands. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to restriction on land use; height; setback and other non-use requirements; physical improvements to the property and infrastructure serving the property. A conditional use is permitted only upon the granting of a Conditional Use Permit by the Board of Zoning Appeals in accordance with Article 1015 of this Ordinance.

Condominium: A building (or group of buildings) in which units are owned individually, and the structure, common areas, and facilities are owned by all the owners on a proportional, undivided basis, in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Georgia Condominium Act, O.C.G.A. § 44-3-7 et seq., as now or hereafter amended.

Convenience store: A one-story, retail store containing less than 3,500 square feet of gross floor area that is designed and stocked to sell primarily food, beverages, household supplies, and auto fuel, to customers who purchase only a relatively few items (in contrast to a "supermarket"). It is designed to attract and depends upon a large volume of stop-and-go traffic.

Day care center: A private establishment enrolling seven (7) or more children under the age of 18 and where tuition, fees, or other forms of compensation for the care of the children is charged, and which is licensed by the state and city to operate as a day care facility. A private home in which seven (7) or more children are kept shall be considered a day care center for the purpose of this Ordinance and shall be permitted to operate only where licensed by the state and permitted by the use regulations of the district in which it is located. Foster homes, group homes and other private homes in which children reside 24 hours a day are not considered day care centers.

Day care-home: A child care facility located in a private residence and operated by any person who receives for pay three (3) to six (6) children under eighteen (18) years of age for group care, without transfer of custody, for more than four (4) hours and less than twenty-four (24) hours per day, and has obtained a Certificate of registration from the state Department of Human Resources.

Dwelling: Any building or portion thereof which is designed for or used for residential occupancy including one-family, two-family and multi-family but not motels or hotels.

Dwelling, multi-family: A building designed for or occupied exclusively by three (3) or more families living independently of each other, provided that manufactured housing shall not be included within this definition.

Dwelling, single-family: A structure containing not more than one (1) dwelling unit designed for residential use which meets or exceeds the following standards:

(a)

Minimum width in excess of fifteen (15) feet.

(b)

Minimum square footage as required by the regulation of the zone in which it is located.

(c)

The roof shall have a pitch equal to or greater than the average pitch on the roofs of all single-family dwellings within a five hundred (500) feet radius, and in no case shall the roof have a pitch of less than 2.5 feet in rise to twelve (12) feet in run. The roof shall have a surface of wood, shakes, asphalt composition, wood shingles, concrete, fiberglass or metal titles, slate, built up gravel or other material approved by the Chief Codes Official.

(d)

The exterior siding material shall consist of wood, masonry, concrete, stucco, hard board, metal or vinyl lap or other material of like appearance approved by the Chief Codes Official.

(e)

The unit must have a foundation as follows:

- Site Built Residential Dwelling Unit be in accordance with the Georgia Minimum Standards Building Code; and

- New Manufactured Residential Dwelling Units be in accordance with the Manual or other similar documentation as published by the manufacturer and accompanying the unit; and

- Used Manufactured Residential Dwelling Units in accordance with Georgia Law.

(f)

Underpinning or curtainwall installed with adequate ventilation, and may be vinyl, masonry, or materials approved by the Chief Codes Official.

(g)

The unit must be seven (7) years or less in age at the time of installation, and must be constructed in compliance with the standards established by the Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes as amended from time to time, the Standard Building Code, the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended, or the State of Georgia Industrial Building Act.

(h)

Site built homes, manufactured homes, and modular homes shall be compared to other housing within one thousand (1,000) feet of the proposed site in order to qualify as a single family dwelling. The approval for placement shall be granted by the Chief Codes Official and evidenced by the issuance of a building permit upon a finding by the Chief Codes Official that the proposed development is substantially similar in size, siding material, roof material, foundation, the inclusion of carports, garages, porches, patios and similar features, and is substantially similar in general aesthetic appearance when compared to existing development or proposed development.

(i)

All towing devices, wheels, axles, and hitches must be removed.

(j)

At each exit door there must be a landing that is a minimum of the same width as the door(s), but landing will not be less than an area of thirty-six (36) by thirty-six (36) inches with steps in place.

(k)

The Board of Zoning Appeals may approve variances from one (1) or more of the developmental or architectural standards above on the basis of a finding that materials to be utilized or the architectural style proposed for the dwelling will be compatible and harmonious with existing structures in the vicinity.

Dwelling, two-family (duplex): A building containing two single-family dwelling units totally separated from each other by a wall approved by the Chief Codes Official wall from ground to roof and located on a single lot.

Dwelling unit: A dwelling or portion thereof providing permanent living quarters for one (1) or more persons living as a single housekeeping unit. The terms "dwelling," "dwelling unit," and residence are synonymous.

Easement: A grant by a property owner of the use of land for a specific purpose or purposes by the general public, or a corporation or a certain person or persons.

Family: One or more individuals not necessarily related by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship living together in a dwelling unit as a single housekeeping unit under a common housekeeping management plan based on an intentionally structured relationship providing organization and stability in a permanent and long-term relationship as opposed to one that is short-term or transient.

FAA: Shall mean the Federal Aviation Administration.

FCC: Shall mean the Federal Communications Commission.

Floor area: The total area of all floors of a building as measured to the outside surfaces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating two (2) connecting buildings, and including halls, stairways, and elevator shafts, but excluding attached garages, porches, balconies, unfinished basements, and attics with headroom of less than seven (7) feet.

Frontage, lot: The distance for which the front property line of the lot and the street right-of-way line are coincident. The minimum required front yard (set back) is measured from this line.

Frontage, street: All the property abutting on one side of a street measured along the street line.

Garage, private: An accessory building or a portion of a main building used for the parking or storage of automobiles of the occupants of the main building. A carport shall be considered as a private garage.

Garage, repair: A building or portion thereof, other than a private or parking garage, designed or used for the storage, servicing, repairing, equipping and hiring of motor driven vehicles.

Glare: The effects produced by light with an intensity sufficient to cause annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance and visibility.

Home occupation: An accessory business use conducted entirely within a minor portion of a dwelling by the occupants thereof. The term "home occupation" includes all categories of home occupations, including home offices, home businesses, and residential businesses, except that the term shall not be deemed to include a bed and breakfast inn.

Hotel: A public commercial lodging, or board and lodging, facility intended for use as temporary residence including meals, entertainment, and various personal services for persons traveling for business, tourism, or other visitation purposes in which ingress and egress from all rooms is made through an inside lobby or office supervised by a person in charge at all hours.

Junked automobile: Any automobile the condition of which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative, or discarded, and is not currently licensed by the State of Georgia.

Junkyard: A lot, land or structure or part thereof, used primarily for the collecting, and outdoor storage and/or sale of waste paper, rags, scrap metal, used lumber, or discarded material, or for the connecting or dismantling or salvaging of vehicles or machinery and for the sale of parts thereof.

Kennels: Any lot or premises on which four (4) or more dogs, cats, or other small animals at least four (4) months of age are kept.

Laundry and dry cleaning pick-up: A business that provides only for the convenience of taking and picking up of laundry and dry cleaning, such as establishments not having any equipment for processing of the laundry or dry cleaning.

Laundry, self-service/laundromat: A business that provides home type washing, drying, and/or ironing machines, for hire to be used by customers on the premises.

Loading space: A space within the main building or on the same lot, providing for the standing, loading, or unloading of trucks and other carriers. No part of a required front yard can be considered as part of required loading space.

Lot: The basic development unit, an area with fixed boundaries, used or intended to be used by one building and its accessory building and not divided by any public right-of-way or alley.

Lot, corner: A lot abutting upon two (2) or more public rights-of-way at their intersection.

Lot, double frontage: An interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets not intersecting at a point common with the boundary lines of the lot.

Lot, interior: A lot other than a corner lot.

Lot depth: the distance between front and rear lot lines. If two opposite sides of said lot are not parallel, the depth shall be deemed to be the mean distance between the front and rear lot lines.

Lot line: A line of record bounding a lot that divides one lot from another lot or from a public or private street or any other public space.

Lot of record: A lot or parcel of land that exists as shown on a plat or deed in the records of the Office of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Crisp County.

Lot of record, substandard: A parcel of land that has less than the minimum area or dimensions required in the zone in which the lot is located.

Lot width: The horizontal distance between the side lot lines of a lot measured at right angles to the lot depth at the front building line.

Manufactured home: A structure defined by and constructed in accordance with the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 as amended, 42, U.S.C. 5401, et seq. The definition at the date of adoption of this part is as follows:

"Manufactured Home" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight (8) body feet or more in width or forty (40) body feet of more in length, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty (320) or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; except that such term shall include any structure which meets all the requirements of this paragraph except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development complying with the standards established under this title."

Manufactured home park: Any lot where manufactured or mobile homes are customarily parked for a longer period of time than 30 days for living or sleeping purposes, or where spaces are set aside and offered for rent for use by manufactured or mobile homes for living or sleeping purposes, including any land, building, structure, or facility used by occupants of manufactured or mobile homes on such premises.

Manufactured home space: A plot of ground within a manufactured home park designed for the accommodation of one manufactured or mobile home.

Manufactured home subdivision: A subdivision designed and intended for residential use where residence is primarily in manufactured or mobile homes.

Mobile home: a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight (8) body feet or more in width or forty (40) body feet of more in length, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty (320) or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein and manufactured prior to June 15, 1976. Any structure meeting the requirements under this definition shall be permitted only in manufactured home parks subject to the conditions and requirements as set forth in Article VII, Section 760 of this Ordinance. Existing lots or parcels containing mobile homes at the time of the adoption of this ordinance are hereby grandfathered and may be continued for that use as nonconforming uses subject to Section 500 of this Ordinance.

Modular home: factory fabricated transportable building consisting of units designed to be incorporated at a building site on a permanent foundation into a permanent structure to be used for residential purposes and which bears a seal of compliance with regulations of either the Southern Building Code Congress International or the Georgia Industrialized Building Act.

Motel: A building or a group of buildings containing sleeping accommodations for rental primarily to automobile transients and in which ingress and egress to and from each sleeping room is generally to the outside of the building, and in which no provisions are made for cooking in any individual room or suite; except however, cooking facilities may be permitted within the individual units for temporary occupancy of a bona fide full service suite hotel or motel which provides on premises such amenities as a lobby, restaurant, meeting rooms, swimming pool, and similar features.

Non-conforming use: The use of any building or land which was legal at the time of the passage of this Ordinance, or amendment thereto, but which building or use is no longer legal after the enactment of this Ordinance, or amendment thereto, with the regulations of the district in which it is situated.

Nursing home: A home for the aged, recuperating, or chronically ill persons in which three (3) or more persons not related to the operator are kept or provided with food and shelter or care for compensation; but not including hospitals, clinics, or similar institutions devoted primarily to the diagnosis and treatment of the sick or injured.

Parcel of land: A lot that exists as shown on a plat or deed in the records of the Office of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Crisp County.

Parking, off-street: An area designated for automobile storage which is wholly beyond any public street right-of-way.

Personal care home: A profit or nonprofit facility, home or structure providing protective care and watchful oversight for residents. Such home, however, shall not provide chronic or convalescent medical or nursing care. Personal care involves responsibility for the safety of the residents while inside the building. Personal care may include daily awareness by the management of the residents' functioning and whereabouts, the reminding of residents of their appointments, the ability and readiness of management to intervene if a crisis arises for a resident, and supervision by management in areas of nutrition, medication, and actual provision of transient medical care. The residents and staff shall live together as a single housekeeping unit and in a long-term, family-like environment.

Personal care homes shall not provide services to any person who would constitute a direct threat to the health and safety of other individuals. The term "personal care home" shall not include alcohol or drug treatment centers, work release facilities for convicts or ex-convicts, or other housing facilities serving as an alternative to incarceration. All personal care homes must have a permit from the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

Personal care home, congregate: A personal care home which offers care to sixteen (16) or more persons.

Personal care homes, family: A personal care home in a family residence setting, non-institutional in character, which offers care to two (2) through six (6) persons.

Personal care homes, group: A personal care home in a residence or other type building or buildings, non-institutional in character, which offers care to seven (7) through fifteen (15) persons.

Photovoltaic (PV) System: A solar energy system that produces electricity by the use of semiconductor devices, called photovoltaic cells, that generate electricity whenever light strikes them. Included in a PV system are the solar energy generation mechanisms (e.g., panels or other assemblies of solar electric cells), inverters (devices that convert Direct Current electricity produced by the system to usable Alternating Current), batteries and battery systems that store electrical energy from the PV system for future use, meters, and electric transmission wires and conduits that facilitate connections with users and/or the local power grid.

Planned development (PD): A tract of land developed under single ownership or control based on a plan that allows for flexibility of design not available under normal zoning restrictions.

Planning Commission: The City of Cordele Planning Commission, known as the Planning Commission. Planning Commission members are appointed by the Cordele City Commission, serve for five (5) years, and must be a property owner in the City of Cordele. The City Manager and Assistant City Manager are nonvoting, ex-officio members and shall attend meetings to provide information to the Planning Commission.

Plat: A map, plan or layout of a county, city, town, lot, section, or subdivision, or development, certified by a registered surveyor, and indicating the location and boundaries of properties.

Preexisting towers and antennas: Any telecommunication tower or antenna for which a permit has been properly issued prior to the effective date of this Ordinance.

Principal use: The primary purpose for which land or a building is used.

Public utility: a privately owned and operated business, franchised to use public rights-of-way and whose purpose is to systematically provide energy; power; water; transportation; or liquid, gaseous, or solid commodities to the general public.

Recreational vehicle: A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis, designed to be either pulled by another vehicle or self-propelled, to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel and recreational purposes. The term "recreational vehicle" includes the terms "RV," "motor home, "travel trailer," and related wheeled recreational equipment not designed for permanent occupancy.

Restaurant: Any establishment merchandising or commercial dispensing food or drink that is located on a permanent foundation, and which has seats for customers inside the establishment, and at which the customer is served either over the counter, at a table or counter, or through an exterior sales window.

Restaurant, drive-in: An eating establishment which caters to motor-driven vehicle business where the person being served consumes his food and/or drink while sitting in a motor driven vehicle, as opposed to a restaurant serving exclusively inside an enclosed building.

Restaurant, drive-thru: An eating establishment wherein a patron is served through a window or other device while remaining in a motor vehicle and where product is served to persons in a vehicle are not normally consumed on the premises.

Right-of-way: The areas of a highway, road, street or way reserved for public use, whether established by prescription, dedication, gift, purchase, eminent domain or any other legal means.

Set back line: The line that establishes the required minimum distance between any building and any lot line and that establishes the area within which structures must be placed.

Shopping center: A group of commercial establishments planned, developed, and managed as a unit, with common off-street parking provided on the property.

Sign: Definitions for signs are set forth in Article IX of this Ordinance.

Solar Array: A number of photovoltaic modules or panels that generate solar electricity, assembled or connected together to provide a single electrical output.

Solar Array, Tracking: A solar array that follows the path of the sun to optimize the amount of solar radiation received by the device. A tracking solar array may be ground mounted or building mounted.

Solar Access Easement: A recorded easement, the purpose of which is to secure the right to receive sunlight across real property of another for continued access to sunlight necessary to operate a solar energy system.

Solar Energy: Radiant energy received from the sun that can be collected in the form of heat or light by a solar collector or solar energy system.

Solar Energy Facility: The area of land devoted to solar energy system installation. A solar energy facility may include an interconnection with the local utility power grid. Includes the term "solar farm."

Solar Energy System: The components and subsystems required to convert solar energy into electric or thermal energy suitable for use. The term applies, but is not limited to, photovoltaic (solar electric) systems and thermal solar energy systems.

Solar Energy System, Building Mounted: A solar energy system, which may include solar thermal panels, solar hot water system panels, and photovoltaic panels, which are mounted to a building or structure, to provide energy primarily for on-site use. Building-mounted solar panels may be flush-mounted (i.e., flush to the surface of a building roof or building façade in a manner that the panel cannot be angled or raised), or as one or more modules fixed to frames which can be tilted or automatically adjusted at an optimal angle for sun exposure. A mounted solar energy system is an accessory to the building or structure.

Solar Energy System, Ground Mounted: A solar energy system that is directly installed on (mounted to) the ground and is not attached or affixed to any structure. This System provides energy primarily for onsite use.

Solar Energy System, Thermal: A solar energy system that directly heats water or other liquid using sunlight, including the use of heated liquid for such purposes as space heating and cooling, domestic hot water, and heating pool water. This System provides energy primarily for onsite use.

Solar Farm: A solar energy facility, typically with multiple solar arrays, designed and used for the purpose of generating electric energy via a photovoltaic system.

Special use permit: Permit which must be granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals in accordance with Article VI, Section 680, and Article XI, Section 1125 of this Ordinance prior to establishing or erecting a use that is unclassified under this Ordinance.

Story: That portion of a building, other than a cellar or basement, included between the surface of any floor and the ceiling above it.

Street, public: A public way dedicated to and accepted by the City for the use of vehicular or pedestrian traffic by the general public and may be referred to as a street, highway, parkway, road, avenue, drive, boulevard, lane, place, etc.

Street line: The legal line between street right-of-way and abutting property.

Structure: Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a location on the ground, or attached to something having a location on the ground.

Subdivision: Any division of a tract or parcel of land into two (2) or more lots, building sites or other divisions for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, legacy, or building development, including any division of land involving a new street or a change in existing streets, and including re-subdivision and, where appropriate to the context, related to the process of subdividing or to the land or area subdivided; provided, however, that the following are not included in this definition:

(a)

the division of land into parcels of five (5) acres or more where no new street is involved and each parcel has at least one hundred and fifty (150) or more feet of frontage on an existing public road;

(b)

the sale or exchange of parcels of land between separate or common owners of adjoining properties, provided that additional lots are not thereby created, and that the modified lots are in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and other ordinances of the City.

Total building coverage: The portion of a lot that can be covered by the principal and accessory buildings expressed as a percentage.

Tower: shall mean any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas, including self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers, or monopole towers. The term includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures, and the like.

Townhouse: One (1) of a group of three (3) or more single-family attached dwelling units under fee simple or condominium or cooperative ownership, as defined by the laws of the State of Georgia, which are erected in a row as part of a single building on adjoining lots, in which each unit has its own front and rear access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more vertical common fire-resistant walls.

Variance: A departure from the applicable standards of the zoning ordinance relating to dimensional requirements that is granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

Warehouse: A building in which wares, or goods, are stored, as before distribution to retailers, or kept in reserve.

Warehouse, mini: A building, constructed in a compartmentalized fashion so as to facilitate the lease or rental of separate compartmentalized units to individuals and/or organizations for the storage of wares, good, and/or personal property.

Yard, front: The required minimum open, unoccupied space situated between the front building (setback) line and the front lot line and extending the full width of the lot and measured perpendicular to the building at its closest point to the front lot line. On lots having frontage on more than one street, the minimum front yard shall be provided for each street in accordance with Section 425 (Corner Lots) of this Ordinance.

Yard, rear: The required minimum, open, unoccupied, space, on the same lot with the principal building, situated between the rear building (setback) line and the rear lot line and extending the full width of the lot and measured perpendicular to the building at its closest point to the rear lot line. On all corner lots the rear yard shall be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.

Yard, required minimum: An open space on the same lot with a principal building, open, unoccupied, and unobstructed by buildings or structures from the ground to the sky, except that accessory buildings and uses are permitted in required yards. Except as provided herein, porches, steps, and balconies, may project into a required yard. Required parking spaces may occupy yard areas if the provisions of screening set forth in Section 550.2 are satisfied.

Yard, side: The required minimum, open, unoccupied, space on the same lot with a principal building, situated between the side building (setback) line and the side lot line and extending from the rear building line to the front building line. If no front yard is required, the front boundary of the side yard shall be the front lot line. On corner lots, the side yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its greatest dimension.

Zoning: The power of the City of Cordele to provide within its territorial boundaries for the zoning of property for various uses and the prohibition of other or different uses within such zones or districts and for the regulation of development and the improvement of real estate within such zones or districts in accordance with the uses of property for which said zones or districts were established.

(Ord. No. 0-99-47, §§ 2, 3, 8-3-99; Ord. No. 0-04-25, § 2, 9-7-04; Ord. No. 2022-09, § 1, 11-2-22)